Irrigation sprinkler



y 28, 1 A. R. J. FRIEDMAIQN ,ET AL 3,521,822

IRRIGATION srizfmum Filed Feb. 19, 1968 50 FIG -1 25 I si INVENTORS.ANTON RIFRIEDMANN a, RALPH H.E BY

as ag 3 A77 ORA/E Y United States Patent 3,521,822 IRRIGATION SPRINKLERAnton R. J. Friedmann and Ralph H. Eby, Troy, Ohio,

assignors to Ashley F. Ward, Inc., doing business as The SkinnerIrrigation Company, Troy, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Feb. 19,1968, Ser. No. 706,272 Int. Cl. Bb 3/04 US. Cl. 239-206 9 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pop-up sprinkler unit in which both theflow rate of the water and the rate of step-by-step rotation of thenozzle are adjustable independently by control means accessible at alltimes from the top of the unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a pop-up impulse sprinkler of the typedisclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,263,930, issued to the assignee of thepresent invention, and which is adapted to be recessed within theground, it is desirable to provide control means for infinitely varyingboth the step-by-step rotational speed of the nozzle and the flow rateof water discharged from the nozzle. In this way the sprinkler can beproperly adjusted according to the pressure in the water supply linewhere the sprinkler is connected. Moreover, when a series of sprinklersare connected to one water supply line, it is usually necessary toadjust each sprinkler to compensate for the pressure drop in the watersupply line.

As shown in the above patent, the rotational speed of the nozzle may bevaried by adjusting a screw which controls the flow rate of waterthrough a bypass port and thereby indirectly controls the flow rate ofwater through the driving port for the impeller. Any significant changein the flow rate of water discharged from the sprinkler nozzle, however,is obtained by adjusting a throttle plate located adjacent the bottominside surface of the sprinkler housing. To obtain access to thethrottle control plate, it is first necessary to remove the cover plateand the nozzle and impeller assembly which is supported by the coverplate. Thus flow rate adjustment cannot be performed while the sprinkleris in operation nor without disassembling the sprinkler.

The construction of a sprinkler as shown in the above patent alsopresents a particular manufacturing problem. That is, to form thedriving port within the housing for directing a stream towards theimpeller and to form the passageway extending from the bottom inlet tothe port,

it has been found necessary to drill two laterally extending holeswithin the housing and then plug the outer ends of the holes. Theplugging operation significantly increases the production cost of thesprinkler housing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to animproved irrigation sprinkler of simplified construction. It providesfor conveniently adjusting both the rotational speed of the nozzle andthe flow rate of water through the nozzle while the sprinkler is inoperation and from above the ground. Thus the present invention providescontrol means which is accessible from the top of the sprinkler forvarying both the flow rate of water into the sprinkler housing and therotational speed of the impeller which produces step-by-step rotation ofthe nozzle stem. The only tool needed is a screw driver.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, thesprinkler housing incorporates a small auxiliary port which connects thebottom inlet directly to the chamber which receives the impeller andnozzle stem lice sub-assembly. In addition, the housing is provided witha passageway which extends from the bottom inlet upwardly adjacent theside wall of the chamber. It has a cross-sectional area substantiallygreater than that of the bottom port and forms the primary water supply.The passageway includes a discharge port which directs a stream of waterinto the chamber against the impeller rotatably supported by the nozzlestem.

A control screw is threaded into the upper end portion of the passagewayand has a groove formed in its bottom surface for channeling at least aportion of the water flowing through the passageway and discharge portinto a variable direction stream. By simply adjusting the angularposition of the screw, the angle of impingement of the stream againstthe impeller is changed, thereby controlling the rotational speed of theimpeller. Furthermore, by adjusting the screw axially in increments ofhalf turns, the flow rate of the primary supply of water into thechamber may be varied, thereby controlling the flow rate of waterdischarged from the sprinkler.

The bottom inlet coupling of the sprinkler housing is offset from thevertical centerline of the housing so that the passageway may be formedwith minimum machining and without subsequent plugging simply bydrilling one hole upwardly from the inlet at an inclined angle tointersect a second hole drilled downwardly from the top of the housing.The latter hole also intersects the impeller drive port which is castwithin the housing.

Other features and advantages of a sprinkler constructed in accordancewith the invention will be apparent from the following description, theaccompanying drawing and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a vertical section of asprinkler constructed in accordance with the invention and takengenerally along the line 1-1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sprinkler which is shown in section in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken generally on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section taken generally on the line 44 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a portion of the sprinklershown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The part circle pop-up sprinklershown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a generally cup-shaped housing 10 whichdefines an open top chamber 12 surrounded by a fiat annular surface 13at the top. A bottom'inlet coupling 15 is formed as an integral part ofthe housing 10 and defines a threaded inlet opening 16 which is ofisetrelative to the vertical centerline 17 of the chamber 12. The upper endof the inlet opening 16 is connected directly to the chamber 12 by acircular auxiliary port 20 having a diameter D of, for example,approximately inch. In the usual manner, the inlet coupling 15 isadapted to be connected to an underground water supply line (not shown)so that a portion of the water will fiow directly from the supply linethrough the port 20 and into the chamber 12.

An elongated projection 24 having a U-shaped outer surface configurationis formed as an integral part of the housing 10. A passageway 25 isformed within the projection 24 with a portion 26 inclined upwardly fromthe inlet opening 16 and joining a vertically extending portion 27 whichintersects a laterally extending portion defining a discharge port'30opening into the chamber 12. The passageway 25 has a diameter D which issubstantially larger than the port 20, for example, in the order ofinch.

The port has a rectangular cross-sectional configuration formed byparallel spaced upper and lower flat wall surfaces 31, a radiallyextending flat wall surface 32 (FIG. 3) and an opposing flat wallsurface 34 which diverges inwardly from the surface 32. The passageway25 is formed by drilling the portion 26 with a bit extending upwardlythrough the bottom inlet opening 16 and drilling downwardly from the topsurface 13 to form the portion 27.

A control screw is threaded into the upper end portion of the passageway25 adjacent the port 30 and has an upper head with a screw driver slot41. An inverted V-shaped channel or groove 42 (FIG. 4) is formed withinthe lower end portion of the screw 40, and the groove 42 is verticallyaligned with the slot 41 to provide an indication of the angularposition of the groove 42 from above the sprinkler housing.

A cover 45 is mounted on the top surface 13 of the housing 10 with anannular gasket 46 therebetween and is releasably secured to the housingby four corner screws 48. A cylindrical bore 49 is formed Within thecenter of the cover 45 and slidably supports a nozzle sub-assembly 50for vertical movement between a retracted position (not shown) and anelevated or pop-up position as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The nozzle assembly 50 includes a tubular sleeve 52 having a closedupper end 53 with a flat upper surface adapted to lie flush with theupper surface of the cover 45 when the assembly 50 is retracted. Avertically extending groove or keyway 55 is formed within the sleeve 52and receives a key member 56 formed integrally with the cover 45 toprevent relative rotation between the sleeve 52 and the cover 45. Asshown in FIG. 5, the key member 56 is formed by deforming inwardly asmall portion of the cover 45 between the central bore 49 and aslot-like recess 58 formed within the top surface of the cover 45. Aboss 59 projects downwardly from the underneath surface of the cover 45directly under the recess 58 to provide the cover with sufiicient wallthickness adjacent the recess 58.

An outwardly projecting flange 62 (FIG. 5) is formed on the lower end ofthe sleeve 52 and supports a fiat metal washer 63 on which rests aresilient sealing Washer 65 having an inner portion projecting into acircumferential retaining groove 67 formed within the lower end portionof the sleeve 52. An arcuate slot 68 is formed within the upper end ofthe sleeve 56 and, as shown, extends approximately 270 around the sleeveto define a circle spray pattern.

A tubular nozzle stem 70 has an upper portion which is rotatablysupported within the sleeve 52 and defines a passageway 72 containing aflat stream straightening vane 73 and having a lower end opening intothe housing chamber 12. The upper end portion of the nozzle stem 70 hasa series of three angularly spaced nozzle openings 75 which slopeupwardly from the upper end of the passageway 72. A series of threepressure relief ports 76 are also formed within the nozzle stem 70directly above the nozzle opening 75 and open into a cavity 78 formedwithin the upper end of the nozzle stem 70. The purpose of the ports 76is fully described in the above mentioned patent.

A circumferential groove 80 is formed within the outer surface of thenozzle stem 70 and receives a point-like projection 82 which is stakedinwardly from the sleeve 52 at the bottom of the slot 55. The detentconnection formed between the projection 82 and the groove 80 enablesthe nozzle stem 70 to rotate Within the sleeve 55 while providingsufficient engagement to cause axial movement of the sleeve 55 with thenozzle stem 70. The detent connection also enables the sleeve 55 andstem 70 to be quickly assembled by pressing the sleeve and stemtogether.

An intermediate circumferential flange 85 (FIGS. 1 and 5) is formed onthe nozzle stem 70 and is separated from the sleeve flange 62 by a lowfriction plastic washer 86. An impeller having a cylindrical hub portion91 is mounted on the lower portion of the nozzle stem 70 and includes aplurality of uniformly spaced curved vanes 92 which project outwardlyfrom a part cylindrical rib portion 93 in which a recess 94 is formed. Aradially extending flange 95 connects a pair of adjacent vanes 92 of theimpeller 90 and an integrally formed stud 96 projects downwardly fromthe flange 95.

A striker member 100, preferably constructed as Shown in the abovepatent, is rotatably mounted on the stud 96 and is retained by apressed-on retaining washer 101. The impeller 90 is retained on thenozzle stem 70 above a low friction plastic washer 103 by an impact arm105 having a hub portion 106 threaded onto the lower end portion of thenozzle stem. The arm 105 also has a flange portion 108 which projectsupwardly into the path of the revolving striker member carried by theimpeller 90.

When water under suitable pressure is introduced into the inlet opening16, the water enters the chamber 12 through the auxiliary port 20 andalso through the primary passageway 25 and port 30, thereby pressurizingthe chamber and causing the nozzle assembly to pop-up. The impeller 90thus rotates to produce step-by-step rotation of the nozzle stem 70 fordistributing the water over a pre-selected part circular area asdetermined by the angular extent of the sleeve opening 68. The flow rateof water through the port 30 is determined by the distance H (FIG. 4)between the bottom surface of the control screw 40 and the bottomsurface 31 of the port 30. Thus to reduce the flow rate of waterdischarged from the nozzle ports 75, the control screw 40 is screweddownwardly to reduce the distance H, and to increase the fiow rate,control screw 40 is elevated within the passageway. A minor but more orless constant part of the flow comes from port 20.

As mentioned above, the screw 40 also serves to control the rotationalspeed of the impeller 90. That is, the inverted V-shaped groove 42formed within the flat bottom surface of the screw 40 channels a portionof the water flowing within the passageway 25 into a laterally directedstream. By changing the angular position of the groove 42, the angle ofimpingement of the stream against the impeller vanes 92 is varied,thereby controlling the rotational speed of the impeller.

The vertical alignment between the groove 42 and the screw driver slot41 provides a convenient visual indication from above the sprinkler ofthe angular position of the channel 42. Thus referring to FIGS. 2 and 3,turning the screw 40 slightly clockwise will increase the rotationalspeed of the impeller 90 with a corresponding increase in thestep-by-step rotation of the nozzle stem 70. Slight counterclockwiseturning of the screw will decrease the rotational speed of the impeller90 and nozzle stem 70.

As can be seen from the drawing and the above description, an irrigationsprinkler constructed in accordance with the invention provides severaldesirable features and advantages. For example, with the sprinkler inoperative position with the top surface of the cover 45 substantiallyflush with the ground surface, the screw 40 is completely accessible atall times. Both the flow rate of water discharged and the step-by-steprotational speed of the nozzle are adjusted with the use of only a screwdriver.

Moreover, the same adjustments can be made while the sprinkler is inoperation. This is especially desirable when a series of sprinklers areconnected to a common supply line and it is desired to adjust eachindividual sprinkler to compensate for the pressure drop within thesupply line to obtain a substantially uniform discharge from eachsprinkler. As an example of the variation in flow rate which can beobtained by adjusting the control screw 40 on a sprinkler constructed asshown in FIG. 1, the results of tests performed on a circle sprinklerwith a water supply pressure held at 45 p.s.i. showed a 2.75 g.p.m. flowrate when H :0, a 4.05 g.p.m. flow rate when H=.O625 inch, and a 4.25g.p.m. when H=.1042 inch.

Another important feature of the sprinkler is provided by constructingthe housing so that the inlet coupling is oiTset from the centerline 17of the chamber 12 and the passageway 25 extends upwardly from thecoupling in the direction of offset with the inclined portion 26intersecting the vertically extending portion 27. As a result, thepassageway 25 is formed without the need for plugging any holes withinthe housing. Furthermore, the small area of the opening relative to thearea of the passageway enables the housing 10 to he used with varioussleeves 52 having different size openings 68 for obtaining various areacoverages. That is, by providing an area ratio of approximately 7: 1,the housing 10 provides eflective flow control with interchangeablesleeves having openings for /4 to circle coverage, or with a full circlenozzle stem as shown in the above patent.

The construction of the sprinkler is also simplified by forming therecess 58 and boss 59 on the housing cover so that the integral keyportion 56 may be staked inwardly into the bore 49 for cooperation withthe key'way 55 to prevent rotation of the sleeve 52. As a result, it isunnecessary to drill a hole within the cover 50 and to insert a guidepin as illustrated in the above patent.

While the form of sprinkler herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of sprinkler, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In an irrigation sprinkler including a housing defining an internalchamber and an inlet adapted to be connected to a water supply line, anozzle member in fluid communication with said chamber, means supportingsaid nozzle member for rotary movement, means defining a passagewaywithin said housing for directing a stream of water from said inlet intosaid chamber, and impeller means within said chamber for rotating saidnozzle member in response to impingement of a stream of water directedfrom said passageway into said chamber, the improvement comprisingadjustable control means adjacent the top of said housing for varyingindependently both the speed of rotation of said impeller means and theflow rate of water through said nozzle member while said sprinkler isoperating.

2. A sprinkler as defined in claim 1 wherein said inlet is offsetlaterally from the axis of rotation of said impeller means, saidpassageway comprises a first portion extending generally verticallywithin said housing, and a second portion inclined upwardly from saidinlet coupling to intersect said first portion for conveniently drillingsaid passageway within said housing.

3. An irrigation sprinkler adapted to be installed in the groundsubstantially flush with the ground surface, comprising a housingdefining an internal chamber and an inlet adapted to be connected to awater supply line, a nozzle member in fluid communication with saidchamber, means supporting said nozzle member for rotary movement, animpeller rotatably supported within said chamber, means for rotatingsaid nozzle member in response to rotation of said impeller, meansdefining a passageway within said housing for directing a stream ofwater from said inlet toward said impeller, and adjustable control meansaccessible from the top of said sprinkler for infinitely positioningbetween a predetermined range the angle of impingement of at least aportion of the Water directed through said passageway toward saidimpeller for controlling the rotational speed of said nozzle member.

4. A sprinkler as defined in claim 3 including means for varying theflow rate of water through said passageway and into said chamber inresponse to adjustment of said control means to provide for convenientlycontrol- 6 ling the flow rate of water distributed by said sprinkler inaddition to controlling the rotational speed of said nozzle member whilethe sprinkler is operating.

5. An irrigation sprinkler adapted to be installed in the groundsubstantially flush with the ground surface, comprising a housing havingmeans defining a bottom inlet coupling adapted to be connected to awater supply line, a cover for the top of said housing and includingmeans defining an opening therein, a tubular nozzle stem rotatablymounted within said opening and adapted to pop upwards in response towater pressure within said housing, an impeller mounted on said stem forrotation in relation thereto, an arm member connected to said stem andextending outwardly therefrom, striker means carried by said impellerfor imparting successive impulses to said arm member to producestep-by-step rotation of said stem, said inlet coupling being laterallyoffset from the axis of rotation of said impeller, means defining apassageway within said housing for directing water from said inletcoupling towards said impeller to produce rotation thereof and includinga portion inclined upwardly from said inlet coupling in the direction ofoffset relation to provide for conveniently drilling said passagewayportion with a drill extending upwardly through said inlet coupling, andcontrol means adjustably mounted within said passageway and accessiblefrom the top of said sprinkler for controlling the speed of step-by-steprotation of said nozzle stem.

6. A sprinkler comprising a housing having an internal chamber, arotatable spray nozzle, driving means in said chamber for rotating saidnozzle, a water flow passageway in said housing having a delivery porttherein adapted to supply water to said driving means, and adjustablecontrol means accessible from the top of the sprinkler for controllingindependently both the flow rate of water through said passageway andthe rate of rotation of said nozzle.

7. A sprinkler as defined in claim 6 wherein said driving means includesan impeller supported for rotation within said chamber, said housingincludes a bottom inlet offset laterally relative to the rotational axisof said impeller, said passageway comprises a first portion extendinggenerally vertically adjacent the side of said chamber, and a secondportion inclined upwardly from said inlet to intersect said firstportion.

8. A sprinkler as defined in claim 6 wherein said adjustable controlmeans comprises a screw threaded into said passageway, means defining agroove on the inner end of said screw to produce a laterally directedconcentrated stream for impinging said driving means, and said screwbeing effective to control the flow rate of water through saidpassageway in addition to the angular position of said concentratedstream.

9. A sprinkler as defined in claim 8 wherein said screw has a head witha screw driver slot therein, and said groove is disposed inpredetermined relation with said slot to provde a visual indicationabove the sprinkler of the angular position of said concentrated stream.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,187,373 6/1916 Nomiya 239--2422,756,099 7/1956 Reynolds 239240 X 3,131,867 5/1964 Miller et al. 239206X 3,263,930 8/1966 Friedmann et al. 239206 FOREIGN PATENTS 141,1985/1951 Australia.

M. HENSON, WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner M. Y. MAR, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 239-241, 51,

